Poultry crate



POULTRY CRATE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 3 o J I Ch hwm T R e .m N E n W m m l T N W M KENNETH A. Lone and W,W Quid.

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Nov. 16, 1965 K. A. LONG ETAL Filed Feb. 28, 1962 Nov 16, 1965 K. A. LONG ETAL 3,217,919

' POULTRY CRATE Filed Feb. 28, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Illv 1H, IIII INVENTORS. KENNETH A. Lone and BY STUART WILDER, JR.

A'Hovngs L A T E G N O L A K E T A R C Y R T L U 0 P 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 28, 1962 INVENTOELS. KENNETH A. Lowe and BY STUART Wmmz JR.

United States Patent 3,217,919 POULTRY CRATE Kenneth A. Long and Stuart Wilder, Jr., Columbus, Inch,

assignors to Aluma Corporation, Columbus, 11141., a corporation of Indiana Filed Feb. 28, 1962, Ser. No. 176,293 13 Claims. (Cl. 220-6) The present invention relates to a crate, primarily intended for shipping fowl; and the primary object of the invention is to provide an improved crate which shall be lighter, smaller in over-all dimensions while still accornmodating the same number of fowl, easier to handle and to stack, better ventilated, more easily cleaned and/or sterilized and stronger than crates heretofore known for similar purposes.

A further object of the invention is to provide a crate structure having specific design characteristics permitting its economical construction from sheet metal, preferably aluminum, of light gauge but possessing suflicient strength to accomplish its intended function and to permit the stacking of a large number of loaded crates without damage to the lower tiers of crates in a stack.

A further object of the invention is to provide, in such a crate, a loading opening in its top plate guarded by a door which, in closed condition, will lie flush with the general plane of the top plate, without substantial protrusion of any element above that plane and which, in fully opened condition, will lie flat upon that top plate. A still further object of the invention is to provide, in such a construction, an integral, perimetral lip bounding the top plate and projecting generally above any protrusion on the door, the door being nested within that lip when in fully open condition.

Another object of the invention is to provide, in association with such a door, novel latch means supported from the door in a novel manner and cooperable, at times, with support means carried by the top plate to retain the door in closed position.

Still another object of the invention is to provide, in such a crate, a top plate provided with solid tread surfaces on opposite sides of the loading opening, each proportioned and designed to accommodate an adult human foot, said top plate being so reinforced as to permit a workman to stand on the top plate while loading or unloading the crate.

Still another object of the invention is to provide such a crate in which the side, end and top plates are provided with multiple ventilating louvers, the construction being such as to minimize if not eliminate the presence of faying edges, while providing maximum crate strength and facilitating sterilization of the crate structure between uses.

Still further objects of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, our invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and that change may be made in the specific construction illustrated and described, so long as the scope of the appended claims is not violated.

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a crate constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section thereof taken substantially on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a transverse section taken substantially on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, fragmental elevation illustrating details of louver construction;

FIG. 5 is a fragmental section taken substantially on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a fragmental section taken substantially on the line 66 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary plan view, parts being broken away for clarity of illustration, and showing details of the corner construction whereby the side and end plates of our crate structure are joined;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary plan of a corner of a top plate blank, illustrating a cut-out, used at each corner of the top plate and the floor of our crate construction to produce the mitered joint and chamfered corner illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged, fragmentarylongitudinal section showing the manner in which duplicate crates constructed in accordance with the present invention may be stacked upon each other;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged, perspective view of a novel latch element forming a feature of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary section taken substantially on the line 1111 of FIG. 2, drawn to an enlarged scale and illustrating the manner in which the latch element of FIG. 10 is supported in trackways formed on the inner surface of the door; and

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary longitudinal section taken substantially on the line 12-12 of FIG. 1, and drawn to an enlarged scale.

The crate of the present invention is indicated generally by the reference numeral 20 and comprises a floor 21, side plates 22 and 23, end plates 24 and 25 and a top plate 26, the side plates being disposed in parallel vertical planes perpendicular to the plane of the floor and the end plates being arranged in parallel vertical planes perpendicular to the planes of the side plates, the top plate occupying a horizontal plane parallel with the floor. As is most clearly to be seen in FIG. 2, the floor 21 is preferably formed with a plurality of upstanding ribs 27 bent to define external concavities 28, and is bounded by a perimetral lip 29.

The lip 29 comprises a downturned panel 30 at each end, an outturned panel 31, an upturned panel 32 and an inturned panel 33; and, at each side, a downturned panel 45, an outturned panel 46, an upturned panel 47 and an inturned panel 48, for a reason which will appear.

Near each corner, the bottom plate is formed with a frusto-conical depression 34 (FIG. 9) having a central port 35 therethrough; and a foot, indicated generally by the reference numeral 36, is secured to the external surface of the floor in registry with each such depression 34.

Each such foot comprises a part-circular flange 37 secured to the floor by means of rivets 38, and a frustoconical cup 39 having a central port 40 in its lowermost surface, disposed substantially in registry with the port 35. The vertical height of each foot 36 exceeds the combined depth of the lip 29 and the lip 49 which perimetrally bounds the top plate 26, for a reason which will appear.

Each end plate 24 and 25 is formed at its lower edge with an outwardly turned flange 41 and is formed at its upper edge with a corresponding outwardly turned flange 42. Similarly, each side plate is formed at the lower edge with an outwardly turned flange 43 and at its upper edge with a corresponding outwardly turned flange 44.

As is clearly shown in FIG. 2, the inner surface of each end plate 24 and 25 bears against the outer surface of the downturned panel 30 at the adjacent end of the floor 21,

while the lower surface of the flange 41 bears upon the,

inner surface of the panel 31. The panel 32 engages and embraces the distal edge of the flange 41 and the panel 33 bears upon the upper surface of the flange 41 and the external surface of the plate 24, whereby the lower edge of the end wall is securely assembled with the floor.

In the same Way, the inner surface of each side plate 22 and 23 bears against the outer surface of a panel 45, the

lower surface of the flange 43 bears against the inner surface of the panel 46, the inner surface of the panel 47 engages and embraces the distal edge of the flange 43 and the panel 48 bears upon the inner surface of the flange 43 and the outer surface of the corresponding side wall, whereby the side walls are similarly assembled with the floor.

The perimetral lip 49 bounding the top plate 26 is similarly defined, at each end, by an upturned panel 58, an outturned panel 51, a downturned panel 52 and an inturned panel 53, said panels cooperating with the end plate flanges 42 in the same way; and at each side edge, the top plate lip is fornred by an upturned panel 54, an outturned panel 55, a downturned panel 56 and an inturned panel 57 cooperating with the side plate flanges 44 in the same manner.

Of course it will be understood that the floor 21 and the top plate 26 are formed from flat blanks. Thus, a problem arises in connection with the corner formations for the lips 29 and 49. In FIG. 8, we have illustrated, at one corner of a top plate blank, our solution to that problem which is applicable at each corner of the blank for each plate.

At each such corner, we form a cut-out, indicated generally by the reference numeral 58. At the base of the cut-out, an end 59 of a panel section 54 which is perpendicular to the length of that panel section, meets in a right angle an end 60 of a panel section which is perpendicular to the length of the panel section 50. An end 61 of a panel section extends from the distal portion of the end 59 at an angle of 45 to the length of the panel section 55 and terminates in an edge 63 which is perpendicular to the end 61. Similarly, an end 62 of a panel section 51 extends from the distal portion of the end at an angle of 45 to the length of the panel section 51 and terminates in an edge 67 perpendicular to the end 62. An end 64 of the panel section 56 and an end 65 of the panel section 57 define a common line perpendicular to the lengths of said panel sections 56 and 57 and are set back from the edge 63, as at 66. Similarly, the end 68 of the panel section 52 and the end 69 of the panel section 53 are disposed in a common line perpendicular to the lengths of said panel sections 52 and 53 and are set back, as at 70 from the edge 67.

Now, when the panels 55 and 51 are bent downwardly at 90 relative to the panels 54 and 50, and the panels 54 and 50 are thereafter bent upwardly at 90 relative to the plane of the top plate 26, the ends 59 and 68 will come into mating abutment, the panels 55 and 51 will be brought into parallelism with the plane of the plate 26 and the ends 61 and 62 will be brought into mating abutment in the manner illustrated in FIG. 1, to define a miter joint. At the same time, the edges 63 and 67 will be brought into alignment to define a chamfered corner as illustrated in FIG. 1. Now, the panels 56 and 52 may be bent downwardly at right angles to the panels 55 and 51 to embrace the distal edges of the flanges 44 and 42, and the panels 57 and 53 may be bent inwardly to underlie the flanges 44 and 42 in the manner above described, and without interference.

It will be appreciated that, as the panel sections of the top plate and of the floor are thus wrapped around the end plate flanges 44 and 43, outwardly-extending projections or lips are formed at the upper and lower boundaries of the end plates 24 and 25 and that, as the panel sections of the top plate and of the floor are similarly wrapped around the flanges 42 and 41, similar outwardly-extending lips or projections are formed at the upper and lower boundaries of the side plates 22 and 23.

As stated above, the side plates and end plates are formed, respectively, with plural louvers 71 an d 72 and the top plate is formed with plural louvers 73. Each such louver may be formed by suitably punching the metal within the boundaries of the louver to be produced, and then rolling the metal back along each longitudinal boundary to form the substantially cylindrical tabs 77 and 78 and rolling the metal back at each end boundary to define semi-cylindrical tabs 79 see (FIGS. 4, 5 and 6). As to the side plates and end plates, these tabs 77 and 78 are rolled outwardly, and their distal edges are driven home, as shown in FIG. 5, to define completely cylindrical tubes at the longitudinal edges of the respective louvers. Thus, the cylinders defined by the tabs 77 and 78 are open at their opposite ends to facilitate the flow of washing or sterilizing fluid therethrough. It will be noted, from inspection of FIGS. 2, 3 and 9, that the parts are so proportioned and designed that the dimension by which the tabs 77, '78 and 79 project outwardly from the surfaces of the side and end plates does not exceed the outward projection of the lips at the upper and lower edges of the side and end plates.

In the formation of the top plate louvers 73, the respective tabs are rolled inwardly instead of outwardly in order to maintain the outer surface of the top plate clear of obstructions or protrusions.

The top plate 26 is formed, preferably substantially centrally, with a loading opening 80. Preferably, that opening is formed by punching a metal section or slug out of the plate; and, for a reason which will appear, one edge of the opening 80 is formed with a plurality of spaced cut-outs 81. As shown, the opening 80 is rectangular with its four sides substantially parallel with the edges of the top plate.

The formation of the cut-outs 81 provides a corresponding plurality of tabs 83 jutting from the corresponding edge of the slug 82. Those tabs are outwardly rolled in the manner illustrated in FIG. 2 to define an interrupted, cylindrical tube 84 aligned with an edge of the slug 82. A hinge pintle 85 is threaded through the interrupted tube 84 with its opposite ends 86 and 87 projecting beyond the edges of said slug. Those pintle ends may now be supported upon the external surface of the top plate 26. A hold down bracket 88 is formed with a part-cylindrical socket 89 and said bracket is secured to the top plate 26, adjacent one side of the opening 80, by means of rivets 90, with the pintle end 86 oscillatably received within the socket 89. A similar bracket 91 is secured adjacent the opposite edge of the opening 80 and similarly receives and retains the pintle end 87. Thus, the slug 82 becomes a door for the opening 80, hingedly secured adjacent that edge of the opening which is provided with the cut-outs 81, the opposite edge of the door closely mating the opposite edge of the opening 80.

It will be noted that the axis of the hinge pintle 85 is disposed in a common vertical plane with a concavity 92 in the fioor 21, which may be the concavity defined by one of the ribs 27. The door 82 is formed, adjacent its longitudinally-extending edges, with louvers 93 like the louvers 73. Substantially at its median line perpendicular to the axis of the hinge pintle 85, the door is formed with a further louver 95 which differs from the louvers 93 in that its tabs 96 and 97 are rolled only to semi-cylindrical form. At each side of the louver 95 there is formed a further louver 94, and the tabs of the louvers 94 which are adjacent the louver 95 are likewise rolled only to semicylindrical form, as at 98 and 99. It will thus be seen that the louver tabs 96 and 98 cooperate to define an openended trackway 188 and the tabs 97 and 99 cooperate to define a parallel, open-ended trackway 181.

A latch member is indicated generally by the reference numeral 102 and is illustrated in detail in FIG. 10. Said member preferably comprises an integral stamping of bendable, relatively resilient sheet metal and is formed to provide parallel rails 183 and 104 joined by depressed, spaced Web elements 185, I86 and 107. The rail 103 is further formed to provide inwardly projecting tabs or flanges 1.08 and the rail 184 is formed to provide similar projections 189, so that, as can best be seen in FIG. 11, the stems 133 and 134 which join the webs to the respective rails are substantially centrally arranged relative to J said rails. The web 107 carries a tongue 110 at its rear edge and the web 106 carries a tongue 111 at its forward edge. When the tongues 110 and 111 are disposed substantially in the plane of the webs 105, 106 and 107, the latch member 102 can be assembled with the door 82 by entering the rails 103 and 104 from either end into the trackways 101 and 100, respectively. The arrangement is such that, as the latch member is moved into the trackways, the tongues 110 and 111 will register with the louver 95. When those tongues are both positioned with in the length of the louver 95, the tongue 110 may be bent into upright position, and its length is such that, in upright position, it will intersect the plane of the trackways 100 and 101 and thus will interfere with the forward end of the louver 95 to prevent removal of the latch member through the distal ends of said trackways. The tongue 111 may also be bent upwardly into an inclined position, as shown; and that tongue, also, is so dimensioned that, in its inclined position, it will intersect the above-mentioned plane to prevent removal of the latch member through the proximal ends of the trackways. It will be seen that the latch is accessible through the louver 95 for manual manipulation relative to the door.

Secured to the inner surface of the top plate 26 in parallelism with that edge of the opening 80 which is remote from the hinge pintle 35, is a reinforcing bar 112 which completely spans the width of the top plate. Any suitable fastening means may be used to secure the bar 112 in place, but we have illustrated rivets 113 for that purpose. The bar 112 is so arranged as to project somewhat into the opening 80 (FIGS. 1, 2 and 12) thus constituting a support for the free edge of the door 82 when the latter is in close-d position. Preferably, the projecting edge 114 of the bar 112 is beaded or smoothly bulbous in cross section, not only to provide against injury to fowls in the crate but also for improved latching cooperation with the forward-projecting, resilient tongues 115 carried by the respective rails 103 and 104 of the latch member 102. As is clearly illustrated in FIGS. and 12, each of those tongues is downturned, as shown, at its distal end for camming cooperation with the edge 114 of the bar 112 and is formed, at a point slightly spaced from its distal end, with an upwardly opening socket 117 for mating cooperation with the bulbous edge 114 of said bar.

A second reinforcing bar 113, similar to the bar 112 and similarly beaded as at 74 at its inner edge, is similarly secured to the top plate adjacent the opposite transverse edge of the opening 80, and similarly spans the top plate. The bar 118 similarly projects somewhat into the opening 80 to provide additional support for the hinged edge of the door 82. Further reinforcing bars 119 and 120 are secured to the top plate adjacent the respective longi tudinal edges of the opening 80, are provided with beaded edges 75 and 76 projecting into that opening to support the lateral edges of the door 82, and the bars 119 and 120 span the distance between the bars 112 and 118. A further reinforcing bar 121 spans the distance between the bar 112 and the adjacent end of the top plate, while still another bar 122 spans the distance between the bar 113 and the other end of the top plate. A further reinforcing bar 123 is suitably secured to each side plate 22 and 23 and extends from the floor 21 to engagement with the bar 112; and similar bars 124 are secured to the side plates in similar cooperative relation with the bar 118. Preferably, but not-necessarily, each of the above described reinforcing bars is of the hat shape cross section illustrated most clearly in FIGS. 3 and 12.

Each end plate 25 is formed, at each vertical edge, with an inturned flange 125. Each side plate 22 and 23 is formed, adjacent each vertical edge, with a horizontally offset panel 126 whose longitudinal extent is substantially equal to the width of a flange 125. Each side plate terminates in an inturned flange 127.

, When the several side plates and end plates are assembled, each flange 125 of each end plate will be nested in the corresponding offset 126 of a side plate; and it will be seen, from examination of FIG. 7, that the horizontal depth of the offset is substantially equal to the thickness of the flange 125, so that the inner surface of the flange 125 lies flush with the inner surface of the corresponding side plate. At the same time, the flange 127 of each side plate overlies, and bears against, the external surface of the corresponding end plate. Rivets 128 penetrate the offset panel 126 and the flange 125 and other rivets 129 penetrate the flange 127 and the associated end plate, to secure the parts in assembled relation. 1

As is clearly illustrated in FIG. 1, a portion 130 of the top plate adjacent one side of the opening 30 and a portion 131 adjacent the other side of that opening are devoid of louvers and thus constitute solid tread areas. Because of the presence of the reinforcing bars 119 and 120 and their association with the other reinforcing bars 112, 118, 123 and 124, these tread areas, each of which is large enough to accommodate an adult human foot, are the strongest areas of the crate top. Thus, an operative who wishes to load or unload the crate may freely and safely stand astride the loading opening and readily reach into the crate to deposit or remove fowls.

The corner construction illustrated particularly in FIG. 7, together with the provision of the reinforcing bars 123 and 124, provides great vertical crushing strength for the crate of the present disclosure. It contributes, also, to a high resistance against sleaziness in the construction. Further rigidity is contributed by the seams whereby the floor and the top plate are connected to the side and end plates, and the particular corner construction of the lips 29 and 49, produced by the cut-outs illustrated in FIG. 8 whereby the rigid, perimetrally closed, upstanding lips 29 and 49 are achieved. Those lips not only add to rig idity of the crate structure but also assist in providing for solid, non-shifting stacking of relatively large numbers of crates. As is illustrated in FIG. 9, when the crates of the present disclosure are so stacked, the lip 29 of each crate seats solidly upon the lip 49 of the next subjacent crate, whereby the weight of a stack of crates is transmitted solely through those mutiple-layered lip regions. Thus, specifically as shown in FIG. 9, the lip 29 of the crate 20 rests upon the lip 49' of the crate 20, and none of the weight of the crate 20 is directly transmitted to the body of the top plate 26 of the crate 20.

Because of the construction and location of the feet 36, when crates are so stacked, each foot 3-6 of one crate registers with, and extends into, a louver 73' of a subjacent crate 20', the parts being so proportioned and designed that the peripheral wall of a cup 39 will engage, or substantially engage, an end tab 79 and portions of the side tabs 77 and 73 of a louver of the subjacent crate to restrain the upper crate against longitudinal or transverse shifting relative to the subjacent crate.

The particular louver construction described, of course, contributes also to the rigidity of the crate structure.

The novel latch mechanism illustrated, particularly in connection with the specific construction of the door 82, not only facilitates and lessens the cost of manufacture of a latchable door for a crate of the character under consideration, but also produces a highly effective, readily manipulable latch mechanism for such a door.

It will also be seen that the crate of the present disclosure is carefully designed to facilitate sterilization or simple cleaning in that the creation of blind cavities which might retain either liquids or solids has been studiously avoided. To this end, the four depressions 34 at the corners of the floor are ported as at 35 and the corrseponding feet 36 are similarly ported as at 40; the louvers 71, 72, 73, 93, 94 and are, for the most part, devoid of raw edges but even the bounding tabs which are rolled to fully-cylindrical form are open at their opposite ends; and thus, Whether the crates are sprayed,

sluiced or dipped in washing or sterilizing liquids, the liquids can gain ready access to all parts of a crate and the crate may be readily drained and dried without entrapment of contaminants or liquids.

We claim as our invention:

1. In a crate structure, a floor, side and end plates and a sheet metal top plate, said top plate being formed with a punched-out loading opening bounded on two opposite sides by solid tread areas each proportioned and designed to accommodate an adult human foot, an edge of said opening spanning said opposite sides being formed with a plurality of spaced cut-outs, the second of metal so punched out thus being provided with a plurality of spaced tabs and said tabs being rolled outwardly to substantially cylindrical, aligned open-ended form, a hinge pintle threaded through said rolled tabs and projecting oppositely beyond the sides of said section and supported upon the external surface of said top plate, a hold-down bracket for each end of said pintle fixed to the external surface of said top plate, support means arranged adjacent that edge of said opening remote from the first-named edge substantially at the level of the internal surface of said top plate and projecting into said opening to support the edge of said metal section remote from said tabs at times, and latch means carried by said section releasably to secure said section at times in closing relation to said opening.

2. In a crate structure, a floor, side and end plates and a sheet metal top plate, said top plate being formed with a punched-out loading opening, an edge of said opening being formed with a plurality of spaced cutouts, the section of metal so punched out thus being provided with a plurality of spaced tabs and said tabs being rolled outwardly to substantially cylindrical, aligned, open-ended form, a hinge pintle threaded through said rolled tabs and projecting oppositely beyond the sides of said section and supported upon the external surface of said top plate, a hold-down bracket for each end of said pintle fixed to the external surface of said top plate, support means arranged adjacent said opening substantially at the level of the internal surface of said top plate and projecting into said opening to support said metal section, at times, in closing relation to said opening, and latch means carried by said metal section and cooperable with said support means releasably to secure said metal section in such closing relation.

3. In a crate structure, a floor, side and end plates and a sheet metal top plate, said top plate being formed with a punched-out loading opening, an edge of said opening being formed with a plurality of spaced cut-outs, the section of metal so punched out thus being provided with a plurality of spaced tabs and said tabs being rolled outwardly to substantially cylindrical, aligned, openended form, a hinge pintle threaded through said rolled tabs and projecting oppositely beyond the sides of said section and supported upon the external surface of said top plate, a hold-down bracket for each end of said pintle fixed to the external surface of said top plate, support means arranged adjacent said opening substantially at the level of the internal surface of said top plate and projecting into said opening to support said metal section, at times, in closing relation to said opening, and latch means operable at times to retain said metal section in such closing relation.

4. In a crate structure, a top plate having a loading opening therein, a sheet metal door hinged adjacent one edge of said opening and proportioned and arranged to span said opening in closing relation thereto, at times, said door being formed with a plurality of louvers elongated in a direction substantially perpendicular to the hinge axis of said door, the longitudinal edges of one of said louvers being bounded by inwardly-rolled, substantially semi-cylindrical tabs integral with said door and that longitudinal edge of each adjacent louver nearer said one louver likewise being bounded by an inwardlyrolled, substantially semi-cylindrical tab integral with said door, each of said last-named tabs cooperating with one of said first-named tabs to form an open-ended trackway, and a latch member comprising two substantially parallel, coplanar rails having depending, substantially central stems, web means joining the lower ends of said stems, and longitudinally-spaced, bendable tongues integral with said web means, said rails being longitudinally slidably received in said respective trackways and said tongues being bent to intersect the plane which is common to said rails.

5. In a crate structure, a top plate having a loading opening therein, a sheet metal door hinged adjacent one edge of said opening and proportioned and arranged to span said opening in closing relation thereto, at times, support means arranged adjacent that edge of said opening remote from the hinge axis of said door substantially at the level of the internal surface of said top plate and projecting into said opening to support the edge of said door remote from said hinge axis, at times, that edge of said support means which faces said hinge axis being smoothly bulbous in cross section, said door being formed with a plurality of louvers elongated in a direction substantially perpendicular to said hinge axis, the longitudinal edges of one of said louvers being bounded by inwardlyrolled, substantially semi-cylindrical tabs integral with said door and that longitudinal edge of each adjacent louver nearer said one louver likewise being bounded by an inwardly-rolled, substantially semi-cylindrical tab integral with said door, each of said last-named tabs cooperating with one of said first-named tabs to form an open-ended trackway, and a latch member comprising two substantially parallel, coplanar rails having depending, substantially central stems, web means joining the lower ends of said stems, and longitudinally-spaced, bendable tongues integral with said web means, said rails being longitudinally slidably received in said respective trackways and said tongues being bent to intersect the plane which is common to said rails, and a resilient tongue carried by said latch member and projecting beyond said web means toward said support means for resilient engagement With said bulbous edge, at times, to retain said latch member yieldably against retraction.

6. In a crate structure, a top plate having a loading opening therein, a door hinged adjacent one edge of said opening and proportioned and arranged to span said opening in closing relation thereto, at times, said door being formed with a port therethrough elongated in a direction substantially perpendicular to the hinge axis of said door, trackway means, open at at least one end, supported from the internal surface of said door on either side of said port, and a latch member comprising two substantially parallel, coplanar rails having depending, substantially central stems, web means joining the lower ends of said stems and positioned, when said rails are slidably received in said trackway means, below the level of said trackway means, and longitudinally-spaced, bendable tongues integral with said web means, said tongues being bent, after engagement of said rails with said trackway means, to intersect the plane which is common to said rails, portions of said latch member thus being disposed in and accessible through said port when said door is closed.

7. In a crate structure, a top plate having a loading opening therein, a door hinged adjacent one edge of said opening and proportioned and arranged to span said opening in closing relation thereto, at times, support means arranged adjacent the edge of said opening remote from the hinge axis of said door, substantially at the level of the internal surface of said top plate and projecting into said opening to support the edge of said door remote from said hinge axis, at times, that edge of said support means which faces said hinge axis being smoothly bulbous in cross section, said door being formed with a port therethrough elongated in a direction substantially perpendicular to said hinge axis, trackway means, open at at least one end, supported from the internal surface of said door on either side of said port, and a latch member comprising two substantially parallel, coplanar rails having depending, substantially central stems, web means joining the lower ends of said stems and positioned, when said rails are slidably received in said trackway means, below the level of said trackway means, and longitudinally-spaced, bendable tongues integral with said web means, said tongues being bent, after engagement of said rails with said trackway means, to intersect the plane which is common to said rails, said tongues thus being disposed in and accessible through said port when said door is closed, and resilient tongue means carried by said latch member and projecting beyond said web means toward said support means for resilient engagement with said bulbous edge, at times, to retain said latch member yieldably against retraction.

8. In a crate structure, a sheet metal floor formed with a plurality of longitudinally-spaced, transverselyextending, integral ribs protruding upwardly from the upper surface of said floor and providing corresponding concavities in the lower surface of said floor, side and end plates assembled with said floor, and a sheet metal top plate assembled with said side and end plates, said top plate being formed with a generally-rectangular loading opening, a door proportioned and designed to close said opening at times, said door being provided, along one transverse edge, with a plurality of spaced tabs and said tabs being rolled outwardly to substantially cylindrical, aligned, open-ended form, a hinge pintle threaded through said rolled tabs and projecting oppositely beyond the sides of said section and supported upon the external surface of said top plate adjacent one transverse edge of said opening, whereby said door, when in position to close said opening, lies substantially in the plane of said top plate but may be swung about the axis of said pintle to lie flat upon the upper surface of said top plate, a hold-down bracket for each end of said pintle fixed to the upper surface of said top plate, the axis of said pintle being disposed in a vertical plane which includes the crest of a concavity in said floor, and latch means operable at times to retain said door in closing relation to said opening.

9. In a crate structure, a sheet metal floor, sheet metal side and end plates, and a sheet metal top plate, each of said side and end plates being formed to provide an outturned flange at its upper edge, said flanges being disposed in a common plane when said plates are assembled with said floor, said top plate, at each of its sides and at each of its ends, being turned upwardly, then outwardly, then downwardly and then inwardly to embrace one of said flanges and to define an upstanding, boundary lip, said top plate being formed with a generally-rectangular loading opening, a door proportioned and designed to close said opening at times, said door being provided, along one transverse edge, with a plurality of spaced tabs and said tabs being rolled outwardly to substantially cylindrical, aligned, open-ended form, a hinge pintle threaded through said rolled tabs and projecting oppositely beyond the sides of said section and supported upon the external surface of said top plate adjacent one transverse edge of said opening, whereby said door, when in position to close said opening, lies substantially in the plane of said top plate but may be swung about the axis of said pintle to lie flat upon the upper surface of said top plate, a hold-down bracket for each end of said pintle fixed to the upper surface of said top plate, the height of said lip being at least equal to the thickness of said door, and latch means operable at times to retain said door in closing relation to said opening.

10. In a crate structure, a fioor, upstanding sheet metal side and end plates assembled with said floor, a

sheet metal top plate assembled with said side and end plates, said top plate being formed with a quadrilateral loading opening bounded on two opposite sides by solid tread areas each proportioned and designed to accommodate an adult human foot, a reinforcement bar secured to said top plate adjacent each of said two opposite sides of said opening, a reinforcement bar secured! to and wholly spanning said top plate adjacent each of the other two sides of said opening, and a further reinforcement bar secured to each upstanding plate which is parallel with said opposite sides of said opening, in line with and supportingly engaging each of said second-mentioned reinforcement bars.

11. In a crate structure, a floor, upstanding sheet metal side plates and upstanding sheet metal end plates assembled with said floor, a sheet metal top plate assembled with said side and end plates, each of said plates being formed with a plurality of louvers and said top plate further being formed with a loading opening having side edges substan tially parallel with said side plates and end edges substantially parallel with said end plates, said side edges of said opening being bounded respectively by solid tread areas each proportioned and designed to accommodate an adult human foot, a reinforcement bar secured to said top plate adjacent each of said end edges and wholly spanning said top plate, another reinforcement bar secured to said top plate adjacent each of said side edges and spanning the distance between said first-mentioned reinforcement bars, and a further reinforcement bar for each end of each of said first-mentioned reinforcement bars, each of said further reinforcement bars being secured to a side plate and supportingly engaging an end of one of said first-mentioned bars.

12. A seam structure for joining two spaced, parallel, vertical side plates and two spaced, parallel, vertical end plates with a common, horizontal top plate, comprising an out-turned, substantially horizontal flange at the upper edge of each of said vertical plates, said flanges being disposed substantially in a common plane, said top plate having, at each of its perimetral edges, an up-turned panel having a vertical height significantly greater than the thickness of the adjacent flange and proportioned and designed to bear externally upon the inner surface of the adjacent vertical plate, an out-turned panel proportioned and designed to span and bear upon the upper surface of the adjacent flange, a down-turned panel proportioned and designed to span and bear upon the outermost edge of the adjacent flange, and an in-turned panel proportioned and designed to bear upon the lower surface of the adjacent flange, said top plate further being provided, at each corner, with a cut-out shape, when said top plate is in plane condition, to define an end of a side edge up-turned panel section perpendicular to the length of said section and meeting in a right angle an end of an end edge up-turned panel section perpendicular to the length of such section,

an end of a side edge out-turned panel section extending from the distal portion of said first-named perpendicular end at an angle of 45 to the length of said panel section,

an end of an end edge out-turned panel section extending from the distal portion of said second-named perpendicular end at an angle of 45 to the length of said end edge out-turned panel section,

an end of a side edge down-turned panel section and an end of a side edge in-turned panel section perpendicular to the lengths of said sections and set back from said side edge angular end,

and an end of an end edge down-turned panel section an an end of an end edge in-turned panel section perpendicular to the lengths of said sections and set back from said end edge angular end,

said several panel section ends cooperating, when said panels are turned into their defined positions of 1 1 cooperation with their associated plate flanges, to define a mitered joint between adjacent out-turned panels.

13. In a crate structure including a side plate and an end plate adapted to be assembled to occupy relativelyperpendicular, vertical planes, one of said plates being formed at one vertically-arranged edge, with a flange perpendicular to the plane of said one edge, the other of said plates being formed at one vertically-arranged edge, with a horizontally-oflset panel parallel with the plane of said other plate and set outwardly relative to said lastnamed plane by a dimension substantially equal to the thickness of said flange and said other plate further being formed to provide a second flange disposed at the distal edge of said panel and perpendicular to the plane of said other plate, said first-named flange being received in contact with the internal surface of said panel and thus in the plane of said other plate, and said second-named flange being arranged in contact with the external surface of said one plate, securing means penetrating said one plate and said second-named flange, and securing means penetrating said panel and said first-named flange.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,145,646 7/1915 Wright 119-19 1,203,258 10/1916 Pierce 22073 1,217,796 2/ 1917 McFarland.

1,413,149 4/ 1922 Worley 2206 1,618,062 2/1927 Curry 2206 2,436,236 2/ 1948 Taurman 22021 2,701,734 2/1955 Grossman 292-147 THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

EARLE I. DRUMMOND, GEORGE O. RALSTON,

Examiners. 

2. IN A CRATE STRUCTURE, A FLOOR, SIDE AND END PLATES AND A SHEET METAL TOP PLATE, SAID TOP PLATE BEING FORMED WITH A PUNCHED-OUT LOADING OPENING, AN EDGE OF SAID OPENING BEING FORMED WITH A PLURALITY OF SPACED CUTOUTS, THE SECTION OF METAL SO PUNCHED OUT THUS BEING PROVIDED WITH A PLURALITY OF SPACED TABS AND SAID TABS BEING ROLLED OUTWARDLY TO SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL, ALIGNED OPEN-ENDED FORM, A HINGE PINTLE THREADED THROUGH SAID ROLLED TABS AND PROJECTING OPPOSITELY BEYOND THE SIDES OF SAID SECTION AND SUPPORTED UPON THE EXTERNAL SURFACE OF SAID TOP PLATE, A HOLD-DOWN BRACKET FOR EACH END OF SAID PINTLE FIXED TO THE EXTERNAL SURFACE OF SAID TOP PLATE, SUPPORT MEANS ARRANGED ADJACENT SAID OPENING SUBSTANTIALLY AT THE LEVEL OF THE INTERNAL SURFACE OF SAID TOP PLATE AND PROJECTING INTO SAID OPENING TO SUPPORT SAID METAL SECTION, AT TIMES CLOSING RELATION TO SAID OPENING AND LATCH MEANS CARRIED BY SAID METAL SECTION AND COOPERABLE WITH SAID SUPPORT MEANS RELEASABLY TO SECURE SAID METAL SECTION IN SUCH CLOSING RELATION. 